A-League: Western Sydney 2 Brisbane Roar 0

Western Sydney Wanderers defeated Brisbane Roar 2-0 on Friday to reach a fairytale grand final in their maiden A-League season.

Set on their way by Croatian Dino Kresinger and sealed with a touch of brilliance from Japan's Shinji Ono, the only downside in the win for the Wanderers was a needless red card to important winger Youssouf Hersi.

Two poor tackles means he will miss next Sunday's grand final at Sydney's ANZ Stadium, where the Wanderers will face either Central Coast or Melbourne Victory.

But it failed to dampen the mood of the thousands of Wanderers fans among the crowd of 19,369 at Parramatta Stadium, with favourite Shinji Ono's outstanding second-half finish capping off Dino Kresinger's own earlier brilliance.

The Wanderers' night of delight was capped off when captain Michael Beauchamp lifted the Premiers' Plate after the final whistle, with the home crowd staying in their seats to celebrate.

Kresinger had mustered the match's first shot on goal on 15 minutes, drawing a save out of Michael Theo.
He did not waste his second opportunity just a minute later, superbly back-heeling Mark Bridge's cross at the tip of the six-yard box after Hersi's darting run.

Brisbane carved out a handful of half-chances, while Kresinger failed to make the right connection on a header in the 24th minute.

The Wanderers seemed to have more class to their build-up play, but Roar dug in through Mitch Nichols, captain Thomas Broich - having overcome an ankle injury to take his place - and Luke Brattan.

Broich seemed not to misplace a ball, while the Wanderers' own playmaker Ono - despite being cheered with every touch - was somewhat less influential.

Bridge and Hersi were happy to shoulder their share of the load, however, even though the latter showed his wicked side with a poor tackle on Brattan on 34 minutes that warranted a yellow card.

Bridge sought to gain some reward for his hard work when his drive was beaten away by Theo in the 40th minute, while the Roar could have had a case for a penalty when Yianni Perkatis bundled Brattan over as the Brisbane man forged into the area.

Kresinger missed a glorious chance to make 2-0 just two minutes into the second half when unmarked in the box, and Roar winger Ben Halloran - finally finding something like his range - nearly made him pay soon after when his long-range drive got Wanderers goalkeeper Ante Covic scrambling.

Opposite number Theo had to be even more aware when he saved from both Bridge and Mateo Poljak in the 55th minute, with a block from Perkatis' follow-up preventing the need for a triple save.

It was the visitors, however, who largely took control of the second half's early stages, and Halloran drove straight at Covic just after the hour mark.

But the Roar's job was made harder when Broich limped off after 69 minutes, and just two minutes later his side were on the ropes and reeling.

Somewhat ironically, it was Ono who struck the blow. The Japanese controlled Kresinger's flick-on with a feathered touch before curling his chip over an awestruck Theo.

The win lost some of its lustre when a needless lunge by Hersi incurred a second yellow card and his dismissal. Berisha should have followed him as extra-time loomed for kicking out at Kresinger, but it mattered little to the result.